Description: Capt. James Beveridge Harris was born 13 July 1797 in Plumstead, Kent, a member of a military family. He joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and served in it for six years. He served from 1814 to 1819 with the 10th Regiment of Foot, then in 1819 was appointed Ensign to the 24th Regiment, serving first in the East Indies, later in Ireland (where he met and married Elizabeth Molony), and then in Canada. He resigned his commission in 1836 and bought Benares, which had been built by Edgar Neave and named after the Indian city on the Ganges. James and Elizabeth Harris had eight children, four boys and four girls. Three of the boys died young, leaving Arthur Beveridge Harris, the only surviving son.